Hunting and target practice popular recreational activities in Finland

Finland is a country of hunters and gun enthusiasts. There are over 1.5 million licensed firearms and more than 600,000 licence holders in the country.

Responsibility for granting permits for the acquisition and possession of ordinary firearms rests with local police departments. The National Police Board grants, for example, trade permits for dealing in firearms; permits for commercial export, import, transfer and transit; permits for weapons collectors and permits for acquiring especially dangerous firearms.

The National Police Board also performs other firearms control functions and supervises the police firearms licence administration. The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for preparing legislation on firearms intended for civilian use.

For further information on permits, the supervision of firearms and the supervision of the safety of use of firearms, please visit the police website.

The Ministry of Defence supervises the export of firearms for military use. For further information on these issues and other supervisory tasks of the Ministry of Defence, please visit the Ministry’s website.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is responsible for international arms control and disarmament cooperation.